Experienced forward aims to make an impact
David Connolly has spoken enthusiastically about passing on his wealth of experience to Wimbledon’s young forwards, but the experienced striker believes he still has plenty to offer on the pitch.
Connolly has made two substitute appearances since returning as a Wimbledon player after a long spell without playing at Portsmouth.
However, he’s also been helping out behind the scenes by passing on his experience to young strikers currently at the club.
Speaking during an interview for Dons Player, Connolly said: “Ade Azeez and Craig Tanner are both talented young players with all the attributes needed as a striker. If I can give them a few pointers and take the odd training session then that’s great, obviously without treading on anyone’s toes.
“The manager is happy with that and I’ve done it a couple of times. As a striker it’s all about being confident and working on repetitiveness, including getting your touch and finishing right. During the week I’ve tried to drop in the importance of this and hopefully we can see the benefits on a Saturday.
“Both Ade and Craig did brilliantly against Accrington. Craig had a shot that led to a goal and Ade came on and scored as well. I will be looking to make an impact similar to that soon.”
Connolly is experienced enough to know that tomorrow’s match at Morecambe will be tough for the Dons, but he did score against the Shrimps last season – and the 37-year-old says he will be ready to answer the call if required.
“I scored against Morecambe last season, but I know it will be a tough game for us,” added Connolly. “Morecambe have a good manager and they play a good system that they stick to, which has brought a lot of decent results for them. But nothing gets past the coaching staff here and they will prepare us right for that. It will just be up to us as players to be ready on the day.
“I’ve been working hard on the training pitch and when the manager deems it right for me to start – or come off the bench and make an impact – I will be ready. There are good young players here and a lot of talent.
“It’s just great for me to be a part of this and I believe it could be the start of something. The coaching staff have been building it up for a while and we can push for the top-10. If I can help in any way here then that will be great.”
Dons Player subscribers can now watch the video interview with David Connolly ahead of Morecambe and Neal Ardley’s full update.
The picture above was taken by Rob Cornell.